Preparing Your Home for Summer Guests

For some, summer holidays are spent traveling to visit friends and family. For others, this time is spent hosting out of town guests. If you’re playing the role of host this summer, getting ready for guest can be stressful. We’ve got a few tips and ideas to help you get your home ready and make the most of your hosting experience.

OUTDOORS

I’m sure you’ve heard it before, curb appeal is important because it creates the first impression of your home. This is also true when entertaining: that first impression can set the tone for the rest of the visit. To ensure your home is ready to make a fabulous first impression, start with a clean up, give the house a facelift and finish off with a few welcoming touches.

Clean it Up: Mow the lawn, get rid of dead brush, weed the flower beds, wash down the walkways, etc. A front yard that is clean and looks well-keep will create an inviting atmosphere.

Get a Facelift: Giving the exterior of your home a facelift can be as easy as a fresh coat of paint of the front door, window frames and/or shutters. If budget allows, this might be the perfect time to upgrade your exterior with stone veneer for an affordable, modern look.

Welcoming Touches: Once you have the yard cleaned and your exterior updated, add a few welcoming touches like a wreath, potted plants or a door mat.

INDOORS

When entertaining guests in your home, there are 5 rooms that will be used frequently: kitchen, dining room, living room, guest bedroom and bathroom. Here are a few tips to make guests have the best possible experience:

Kitchen:

When guests arrive, give them a tour of the kitchen including where to find important items like cups, beverages, breakfast items, cutlery, wash clothes, paper towels, etc.

Create a “self serve” station with everything needed to make a cup of coffee or tea so that guests can help themselves without feeling like they are inconveniencing you. Adding snack items to the self-serve station or having a section for snack items in the fridge that guests can access is also a nice touch.

Invest in a table that has the option of expanding to provide extra seating as needed.

A buffet or cabinet in the dining room is a great place to store dishes and cutlery. Guests often want to help and having these items together in the dining room means a guest can help set the table without getting in your way while you prepare the meal.

There is nothing worse then ending a vacation sore and exhausted because you haven’t been able to sleep properly. Ensuring they have a good quality, comfortable mattress to sleep on is probably one of the most important things you can do for your guests.

Everyone’s sleep habits are different. Some prefer to sleep with multiple pillows and a heavy blanket while others prefer one pillow and a light blanket. Provide your guests with a variety of pillows and blankets and allow them the flexibility to create the sleeping experience they are most comfortable with.

Bathroom:

To ensure your guests have everything they need, set out clean towels and a basket of essentials: a new toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, body wash, hand soap, etc.

A small laundry hamper is a great addition to the guest bathroom. Guests will appreciate having a place to deposit used towels instead of just leaving them on the floor.

As Online Editor for Canadian Home Trends Magazine, Crystal has a passion for design and decor. She enjoys browsing the web to find new, exciting decor ideas, DIY projects and unique products to share with her readers. With formal training in graphic design and a background in the event planning/design business, Crystal looks at design from all angles to give readers a fresh perspective.